8UP Elevated Drinkery & Kitchen

I hate to rate a place on service but that is the face of a place. Our group (7) was ignored for 15 min after we sat down. We had to convince our waitress we had not ordered. Another 10 min for water. Our drink order was very simple … Wine, beer, cider and one mixed drink. We ordered fries at the same time. The drinks arrived AFTER we had finished 3 orders of fries (which came out quickly — maybe 10 min). No apology for long drink wait … Even Forgot the wine and had to go back to get it. We were there 45 min before our only order of drinks arrived. I have never waited that long for a round of beers. Granted the place was very busy on a Saturday night but this kind of looks for large crowds. Perhaps understaffed or perhaps bad service … Either way we left after one round. The location is on top of the Hilton garden in and the vibe is loud trendy and young.

Breakfast review!
I got the omelette and sausage and it was completely average. My friends got eggs and bacon and everything felt like it was reheated. Honestly you can do much better for breakfast at IHOP or Denny’s.
For drinks this place rocks. I love the unique menu and the outside section. It can get really busy and take a long time to get your drink but the view and drink quality make it worth it for drinks at night.
For us though we probably won’t eat here :-(

8up has a lot of potential. Awesome set up. Honestly I walked in and felt like a high roller. We sat down and the menu is very confusing and not much variety. Yes we did have a large group, but it took almost an hour 15 minutes to get our food. The food was not impressive, seemed like they were trying too hard to make it fancy. This place could knock it out of the park, need to change what’s going on in the kitchen.

I went here with my boyfriend on a Friday night when it was pretty crowded. The atmosphere and ambience is great, very big city like– which I think is the best part of this place .
However the food is mediocre and overpriced and the service really sucked. We had to wait over half an hour for our drinks, meal and for our check and ended up asking random waitresses cause our waitress was no where to be found (needless to say she didn’t deserve the tip that I actually gave her). The drink was watered down and no alcohol in it and was 10 bucks .
I have lived in a lot of cities and been to a lot of nice bars, if you’re gonna charge 10 bucks for a drink make it good so people actually want to get more.
Anyway, I think this place is worth the ambience so I would suggest at least once.

Aww man. Talk about ambience and good drinks and service and you have 8 Up. We visited this place on our visit to KY and I must say we were quite impressed. Very chic rooftop lounge with views of the KY downtown area. You can see right into 4^th Street Live. Out bartender Chad with the mustache was cool. He even has his own drink he made on the bar menu. He concocted a severely strong drink for my sister but we enjoyed it. I would definitely return.

Another place, that feels way to cool for me to be there, but too bad, I’m going anyway. The atmosphere here is great, roof top bar with amazing view, and that atmosphere is reflected in the prices.
My drink, a strawberry cheesecake type martini was really good, and the lamb sliders were good as well. I felt the sliders, which I shared, were a little overpriced, $ 12 for only 2 sliders. They were good, but not $ 6 a piece good, again I feel like the atmosphere is reflected in the price. If you’re OK with the price, its a great place. I would definitely go back here for drinks.

In town for a bourbon tour weekend. That said, first dinner of the trip.
Our server, Nicole was fabulous. Very nice, personable and knew the intricacies of the menu. Our table started with small plates of octopus, steak tartare and a duck and Brussels sprout salad. While the octopus was very flavorful, and overall a really good menu item, there was still some «chewyness» to the texture. The tartare was awesome, and then some. Very well prepared and presented. The salad was really nice. The vinaigrette was outstanding.
As an entrée I had the short rib, on a bed of grits. Damn fine. Just damn good. Great meal, excellent service and mighty good wine.
If, er, when I get back to Louisville, I will be coming here

My friend and I ate here just before the Cyndi Lauper concert and it was fantastic! We sat in the bar, had appetizers and dinner and the drinks were spot on!
I would highly recommend the sapphire martini, crispy chicken sliders, calamari and meatball pizza. I will absolutely be back and can’t wait to check out the swanky rooftop bar!

Love this place… amazing roof top bar and lounge with great drinks, service and amazing small plates/​snacks. This will be my Louisville hang out for sure!

I went there for a meeting and the staff was courteous, kind and polite. Be sure to follow the signs so that you know where to park and which door to use to get to the establishment.

Stopped for a nightcap before turning in for the night. Nice atmosphere, great lounge and bar area. Lots of comfy couches with great ambiance.
Didn’t have food, although the menu looks solid. Nice selection of bourbon and cocktails.

Visited the rooftop bar during a stay. We were disappointed they wouldn’t let us outside on a nice evening, but I am giving 5 stars because of my drink. The Sparkling Sapphire is one of the best drinks I have had in a very long time!
The bartender was very friendly and cute. Atmosphere was nice, more upscale but it didn’t feel pretentious. Comfortable. They do have a menu with some food but the kitchen had just closed during our visit or we would have tried some of their food!

This place makes the best old fashions ever! They have a cool line up of bourbons and bitters. They actually combine the bitters to get some pretty unique aromas and flavors.
The food is really great. I had some charred octopus and roasted shishito peppers. First the octopus was awesome, soaked in a base (I think they said yogurt) to tenderize it then seasoned to perfection and grilled. There was a dark green veggie foam used for a garnish which was dramatic looking and tasted awesome. The peppers were addicting. They varied in heat and had an awesome soy, semi sweet glaze on them that went perfectly with the heat.
The roof top ambiance of the place was great. There were tables, couches, high tops everything you can think of to allow the full spectrum of seating, from relaxed to intimate to super social… and every seat seemed to have a cool view.
The staff was great. They were passionate about their craft. I got a complete run down on how to make a great old fashion and differences between bourbons. They were synced well with the chef, able to explain in detail how every dish was made. I’d go to this place again in a heartbeat!

I have been hesitating writing this review. I love the atmosphere on the rooftop at 8UP. Such a cool view and nice bar! For atmosphere– I give it 5 stars.
The food is just average to me for the price. The small plates are the best way to go. Get the King crab or the scallops. The drink menu has a lot of great offerings but it will put a huge dent in your wallet. I ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio and it was $ 14. It was a 5 oz. pour too. Needless to say, I did not order another one.
My advice– go with a small group of people and share some apps. Enjoy the environment and order bourbon instead of wine.

A few notes from my one visit here on a Saturday night:
–The bar on the weekend is fun and energetic and bright!
–You should know the drinks are VERY expensive, compared to what most bars charge. Every drink we got was $ 8 – 15.
–A buddy of mine ordered a Manhattan with Willett … And it came out to $ 40. How’s that possible? (Maybe the bartender gave him a more expensive year or something but we never solved this mystery and the bartender just said that’s the price)
–No cover, so that’s a nice surprise
–Outdoor patio is non-​smoking so you’ll have to take an elevator back down to the ground if you want to smoke
–Lots of space to walk around and lots of seating
–The view is AMAZING and everything here is nice to look at. It’s visually stunning.

So I have been to 8up twice now. The first time I was blown away. Such a great atmosphere and really good unique drinks as well. I was very excited to go back and try it again but I was sorely disappointed during my second visit.
One of my favorite parts was a unique bourbon cocktail they offered. I couldn’t remember the name of it but it was a redish color and had a Rosemary garnish. I was looking forward to try it again. On the second visit, I didn’t see it on the menu. I asked our waitress about it and she said they changed their menu and it was no longer offered. She recommended a Kentucky national because «it was similar». She must have never had the other drink because they were very different. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t what I expected.
I decided to give another cocktail a try since I didn’t like the Kentucky national much. I asked for her guidance in the other cocktails. She recommended the Kapu Mana because I said I loved mint.
When I tried my drink it was not good at all. It tasted very off. I didn’t taste any mint. It also didn’t have the mint garnish. It was almost like it was straight club soda. I called her over very confused. I thought maybe They gave me the wrong drink because it was nothing like what I ordered. She said, «I was wondering if you would notice. They ran out of mint. I told the bartender that’s why you ordered it. Our other bartender is bringing more mint. She’ll be here in an hour if you want to wait.»
I was shocked and pissed. What unbelievable poor customer service. First, if the bartender didn’t have the ingredients he needed to make the drink he should have informed the waitress. Especially since the mint was a key ingredient.
Second, if the waitress knew the drink was wrong she should have told me and asked to get me something else.
The WORST part of it all was that she trick me. If I didn’t say anything she would have played it off as if everything was right. I was extremely offended by that. If I’m paying +$ 10 for a cocktail you at least expect to get what you ordered to respected enough to be informed if they can’t make your order.
It would be one thing if they didn’t have the drink or if my second visit wasn’t as good as the first. But this terrible customer service will make it very hard for me to return.

In terms of cocktails, atmosphere, service — what a place to have a drink! My husband and I had beverages here this last week. The service was great, the place is beautiful both inside and out. The Armory Punch was a bourbon, rum, lemon, orange, cassis, rosemary cocktail that may sound a little strange but fantastic.
Although they do have a limited menu, we did not try anything.
This had to be one of the prettiest venue we have been in Louisville from the table fire pits to the concrete bar, lighting and view

Look here now. 8UP is worth a visit. It’s a pretty bar. That is honestly the basis of its appeal. I can’t fault it here. If we were rating bars on appearance and presentation alone, 8UP would be a grand slam. I love it. Bit windy. And will suck on a rainy day. But on a nice evening, it’s tough to beat.
The drinks are expensive. Too expensive. My old fashioned was like $ 11. Good Lord.
Food sucks. The pizza will make a turd, I guess. I’d rather eat McDonald’s. Seriously.
Check it out if you’ve never been. And if you have money to burn, it’s not a bad destination. Great atmosphere + marginal food and expensive prices = 3*.

I really like this place. It is a cute little hip ‘barstaurant’ and the apps are pretty good.
I have been frequenting this spot for the past 2 months as I stay at the Hilton in Downtown Louisville. The barstaurant is in the 8^th floor and the outside is very nice.
The food is always fresh and the drinks are pretty good. Tonight I had the calamari and the Southside pizza and both were good. I don’t like the tentacle calamari pieces so they let me order the rings only. My pizza was good but the end crust pieces were a bit darker than I care for.
The calamari was really good. It was fried to perfection and had a light salt sprinkle. It comes with a delicious sweet chili sauce. They also have really good truffle fries. Order them.
I gave them 3 stars because I think their food can be a little better and their drink menu is limited. You can also ask for a drink and their great bartenders will make it for you.
I will be back because of the calamari! Yummy!!!

This a review of the BAR only as I’ve yet to eat here. Convenient spot just a few blocks from the Brown Theater, Mercury Ballroom, Palace Theater, and Fourth Street Live, the 8Up bar staff serves up inventive (& strong) drinks. Its prime like location and beautiful patio that over looks the city allow it to command premium prices for cocktails.
I’ve visited twice in the last week in conjunction with neighboring events. First time, we sat at the bar and had to wait for a bartender — despite the sparsely populated area. Once we got our drinks, a frozen Bellini and a bourbon concoction, we didn’t hear from our phantom mixologist again until we manage to wave him down to close out.
Tonight’s visit improved my impression. We were lucky to find seats on the outside patio with table service. We ordered from a knowledgeable and friendly gal who brought the libations to us as we enjoyed the sunset. My Pimm’s No.8 was super strong, but flavorful. The blend of tequila, Pimms, blackberry liqueur, and house-​made bitters will knock your socks off!
A great view of the fireworks at Slugger Field capped off the night. I probably won’t become a regular here, but 8Up is a fun, downtown location for those times I feel like treating myself.